HTC HD2 Denied Windows Phone 7 Upgrade

It was strongly rumored near the end of 2009 that the HTC HD2 would get an upgrade to Windows Phone 7 since it seemed to have all of the hardware required by the OS. Microsoft has now confirmed that the HD2 won't be getting the upgrade. Is Microsoft being too rigid just to say that all Windows Phone 7 Series phones have a single hardware spec?Today Engadget reported that Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore confirmed that the device doesn't meet the hardware requirements. It isn't that the processor is too weak, or that it lacks RAM. It meets or exceeds the WinPho 7 specs. It appears the real issue is that it doesn't have three buttons. It has five.

Now, assuming that there isn't something more fundamentally flawed like some obscure graphics chip spec that doesn't meet the WinPho 7 requirements, I think this button issue is a bit too strict. I get that Microsoft wants to have a very consistent user experience, but Microsoft has also generated a lot of ill will over the years on devices not receiving upgrades, even though most of that blame rests with the device makers or carriers themselves.

I don't know to what degree the rumors of upgradabilty contributed to the HD2 sales, but I know it wasn't nothing. Why did Microsoft not come out to refute the rumor as soon as it popped up to manage expectations? Better yet, why not just allow HTC to provide an upgrade? Disable two of the buttons if necessary to maintain that user experience. It isn't like the average Joe is buying the HD2. Most if not all of the owners are very tech savvy and likely purchased it, at least in part, thinking it would be eligible for an upgrade this fall. They could survive, gladly, with a five button WinPho 7 device, even if two buttons didn't do anything.

Interestingly, according to the Engadget article, just about every Microsoft employee they saw at Mix10 today sported the HD2 as their phone.